Staples shafts customers, loses my business

Yesterday I ordered a Brother MFC-5440CN from Staples in their Monday sale. It was late in the afternoon - well after the crush of Monday morning traffic. The unit was priced at $49.95. A good deal.

Well, today I get a form email from Staples:

Dear Valued Staples Customer:

Item: PRINTER,MFC-5440CN qty 1

Due to high demand for this item, our stock has been depleted. Please note that you were not billed for it. It cannot be backordered or reordered and no substitute is offered.

How annoying. I guess the holiday shafting has begun. The annoying part is that before I could order it, I had to put my zip code in so they could "verify item availability". Guess their ERP system sucks major.

There's a new commandment in my operating instructions now. It says "Thou shalt not shop at Staples." Too bad for them... I've only spent $12,000 on office supplies this quarter with them. I'll be sending my Staples Account Rep the URL to this post.

Merry Christmas Cindy! Let fulfillment know that 3 strikes and they're out. Told you that upfront.

Good thing CostCo called yesterday to ask if it would "offend me" if they increased the size our business credit line.